My Country Ellen K Mitten www.rourkepublishing.com © 2011 Rourke Publishing LLC All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher www.rourkepublishing.com PHOTO CREDITS: Cover: © gisele; Title Page: © Neil Johnston; Page 3, 5: © Natural_Warp; Page 9: © Joseph C Justice Jr.; Page 11, 15: © Wikipedia; Page 13: © Lisa F Young; Page 17: © Aaron Kohr; Page 19: © Daniel LaFlor; Page 20: © Keith Reicher; Page 21: © Nick Schlax; Page 22: © Natural_Warp, © Daniel LaFlor; Page 23: © Wikipedia, © Lisa F Young Edited by Meg Greve Cover design by Renee Brady Interior design by Tara Raymo Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mitten, Ellen K My country / Ellen K Mitten p cm (Little world social studies) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-61590-328-3 (Hard Cover) (alk paper) ISBN 978-1-61590-567-6 (Soft Cover) United States Juvenile literature I Title E178.3.M69 2011 973 dc22 2010009264 Rourke Publishing Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota 033010 033010LP www.rourkepublishing.com - rourke@rourkepublishing.com Post Office Box 643328 Vero Beach, Florida 32964 Canada United States North America My country is part of the continent of North America My country is the fourth largest country in the world Russia - 1st Largest China - 3rd Largest Canada - 2nd Largest United States - 4th Largest My country, the United States of America, is made up of 50 states Washington Montana North Dakota New Hampshire Minnesota Vermont Maine Oregon Idaho Wisconsin South Dakota New York Wyoming Michigan Iowa Nebraska Nevada Pennsylvania Utah Illinois Colorado California Kansas Arizona Missouri Oklahoma New Mexico Indiana Hawaii New Jersey Virginia Maryland North Carolina Tennessee South Carolina Arkansas Georgia Mississippi Louisiana Alaska Rhode Island Connecticut Delaware West Virginia Kentucky Alabama Texas Ohio Massachusetts Florida Fun F acts Alaska and Hawaii not share borders with any of the other 48 states My country’s capital city is Washington, D.C Fun F acts The president lives in the White House in Washington, D.C My country’s government is a democracy 10 1 In a democracy, people vote for their leaders 12 Fun F acts If you are a citizen of the United States and 18 years old, you have the right to vote 13 Every four years, the citizens of my country vote for the person they want to be the president 14 Fun F acts The 44th president of the United States is Barack Obama 15 My country has many people in it Over 300 million people live in my country 16 17 People from all different backgrounds are Americans My country is a place of great diversity 18 19 My country has many things to see and My country the United , States of America, is a great place to live! 20 Fun F acts The Grand Canyon is a deep gorge carved by the Colorado River in Arizona 21 Picture Glossary continent (KON-tuh-nuht): A large landmass The seven continents on Earth are Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica country (KUHN-tree): A part of the world with its own borders and government The United States of America is a country diversity (di-VUR-suh-tee): A collection of different things Diversity in people includes differences in race, religion, and culture 22 government (GUHV-urn-muhnt): A group of people who carry out the affairs of a country state, or organization , president (PREZ-uh-duhnt): The elected leader or chief executive of a country vote (VOHT): To make a choice in an election or other poll 23 Index capital democracy 10, 12 diversity 18 government 10 people 12, 16, 18 president 14, 15 , vote 12, 13, 14 Websites www.kids.gov www.pbs.org/history www.firstgov.gov About the Author Ellen K Mitten has been teaching four and five year-olds since 1995 She and her family love reading all sorts of books! 24 ... million people live in my country 16 17 People from all different backgrounds are Americans My country is a place of great diversity 18 19 My country has many things to see and My country the United... Florida 32964 Canada United States North America My country is part of the continent of North America My country is the fourth largest country in the world Russia - 1st Largest China - 3rd Largest... Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mitten, Ellen K My country / Ellen K Mitten p cm (Little world social studies) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-61590-328-3